The Elevator Speech – Your 60 Second Pitch

Have you ever been to a networking meeting, you hear the first person introduce himself and you turn to your friend and say, “What does he do?” If you’re confused it’s because people ramble on about themselves without much preparation or consideration for the audience. Nobody cares about your product or service. And nobody wants to listen to a sales pitch.

Imagine you’re in an elevator and you meet a perfect prospect. As the doors close you have 60 seconds to introduce yourself and attract their interest.

How do you succinctly and clearly get your message across when you only have a minute? You don’t want to ramble on and you don’t want to be caught off guard. A good elevator pitch tells the listener what you do, how it benefits them, and the results they can expect. Too many people are unprepared and focused on themselves.So the first step is to script out your message. Read it out loud. Then practice until you can say it conversationally. Time yourself. Thirty seconds is best but don’t go over one minute.

Begin by grabbing attention. Ask a provocative question or describe a situation that everybody has experienced. Talk about what keeps your listeners up at night. Then tell them your name, company and describe your solution. Your solution should answer their biggest concerns, issues, or fears. Avoid the temptation of telling them exactly HOW you do it. That can become too technical. Focus on the what and the why. Make your message concise, clear, compelling and convincing. And then stop talking. Leave them wanting more.